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him.
    We can ,
came the cool, sure impulse.
Charlie bit his lip, a little angry at their
cleverness in reading his thoughts. Taking the reins, Charlie
started off after the three who still hadn't looked back, even when
they replied to that last thought of his. Charlie sniffed angrily
again as he jogged along. The old horse wasn't in any mood to hurry
after the three black figures up ahead, and neither was
Charlie.
"Feel doggone sure of themselves, Nav," Charlie
said in a low voice.
He had no further doubts as to where they were
taking him when they turned by the hill and headed straight out
across the white sand toward Saddle Mountain. And there was no
doubt now in Charlie's mind about the thing that was in
    there between the two peaks.
Filling the tremendous basin formed by the peaks, the "saddle"
between the twins, there was something that stood out clearly,
glistening dully in the pale light. And though it was much wider
than it was high, Charlie guessed that the strange ship must be at
least as high as a five-story building. Forgetting his own fears,
he gave a low whistle as he stared in admiration at the masterwork
of a science far beyond anything known on Earth. Then, as a dim
glow of lights went on somewhere far up in about the middle of the
big ship, Charlie saw the special kind of window or view-port it
had. It was a broad band of glass-like stuff, and it seemed to
circle entirely around the great circular ship. Then as they got
still closer, he could make out other bands, but these were not
lighted. Counting them, from the smallest band about the narrower
bottom bulge of the space ship, Charlie counted all the way up to
the bulge, or dome, on top. There were eleven bands, or rows of
windows! That would mean, Charlie figured, at least eleven
decks.
Navajo became more jittery now than ever as the
three figures led them under the giant space ship. Fearing the
horse might bolt and make the aliens show their hand, Charlie began
talking to Navajo and patting his neck, while he wondered just how
far under the ship they would have to go before reaching some port
or door, or whatever entrance the thing had. Then the three stopped
abruptly just ahead of Charlie and Navajo.
"It's okay, Nav, it's okay. We'll be all right,"
Charlie said, still stroking the horse, "so don't you go worryin'
none."
    Charlie let his voice die away as
he became aware of the great circle of lights all about them,
slowly rising in glow, instead of going on suddenly. The lights
about them were at least several hundred feet across, and now they
seemed to be descending about them—or so it seemed! He had just
noticed this, when he was aware of a tiny jarring motion, almost
imperceptible. It was as though the desert floor beneath them had
suddenly stopped. It had stopped! Charlie found this out as the lights
glowed brilliantly now. The circle of light had not been a band of
lights lowered about them. Rather, they themselves had been hoisted
up smoothly on a great platform—the platform that was the bottom
deck of the space ship! They had risen so smoothly on the great
platform, that only now he knew it, when the lights were on
full.
    Chemical
lighting , came the informative impulse, as
Charlie momentarily wondered what type of power they used. It is unlike your primitive and somewhat
dangerous electrical charges.
Startled back into concern about his own immediate
danger, Charlie looked closely at the three tall figures, trying to
understand which one had just spoken to him. It was hard to ask a
direct question of all three. But he was puzzled, for there was no
way he could tell one thought wave from another, or know whether or
not all three were speaking to him each time.
    There is, came the impulse, as they stared back at Charlie from under
the masking hoods, but that will take
time. You
are not yet familiar enough with the interplanetary
tongue to note its finer delineations. But you shall learn
them.
    Not too concerned as to whether or
not he would